Jason Taylor says he’d sensed something was wrong with Tim Simona’s life away from the NRL field, long before he was deregistered for betting on matches.

Taylor said he had regularly questioned Simona about his private life in an attempt to support the 25-year-old, but he never hinted at his drug or gambling problems.

“We had numerous conversations about life off the field, and Tim has told me every time that life off the field is fine, it’s under control and things were good,” Taylor told Fox Sports.